Riders in the Sky - Space Cowboy RP

Status
Not open for further replies.

Isaac scratched the back of his head as he searched his thoughts for what the ship needed fixing. "It's mainly the power source." he started, "It's something of a hybrid engine; it'll run on fuel in a pinch, but that's mostly to get it to a recharge station. It's mainly an electric engine, and the power cells that run it are busted. Now, I can replace power cells just as well as the next guy, but the engine itself seems to have been jacked up to something that's not there anymore. I'm guessing it was a temporary hookup to get our asses out of the line of UGF fire and crash land on this here rock." He scratched his chin for a second as he thought a bit more. "The overdrive's blown out, too. Poor thing saw some heavy use back in the day. Other'n that, it just needs a bit of cleanin' up." He nodded to Wendel, then turned toward the stairway. "I'll show you around back to where the Four-Fifty is." Isaac started down the steps, only to be headed off by a clean-cut, yet rugged looking individual who immediately introduced himself as Arkikio Crystals. Isaac tipped his hat in much the same way he did to Wendel as Arkikio strode up to them and took the man's outstretched hand, giving it a firm shake. "Only two kinds of people that share names that quick. You're either sellin' me somethin', or you're about to kill me. And you don't much look like you're about to kill a man." Isaac returned his arms to their folded position as he sized up the man. "Yeah, I'm Isaac. What's your business?" He asked gruffly, but without negative intent. "I'm a bit strapped for time."
 
Jury rigging an overdrive was sort of like trying to make a diesel engine that ran off of dishwashing detergent - which, if you asked Wendel that, wasn't too hard, just find the right detergent. Sometimes that stuff is flammable and that's all a diesel engine needs. To translate, he needed to find some sort of alternative and do a slight rebuild. The fact that it was hooked to a vernier force limiter meant that if it didn't work right, the thrusters could either be overlimited or unlimited, which were both really bad for the engines. Of course, the ship needs to have a working engine in the first place, which meant he'd need either a charger or a new cell, as well as a good place to hook it to. He could save the mechanics a lot of work if he had plans so he knew where to put the engine where it was secure and wouldn't inhibit the stock design of the ship.

But who was the pipsqueak? Wendel had heard of him. Seen him, even. Pictures. Conversations. Don't ask. He was the one who would try to sell Wendel his own gun. While Wendel had known the bandits who robbed him, he didn't know they had robbed the boy, or that the boy had even been robbed. He also had no idea that the equipment he'd kept in his warehouse was the kid's. Wendel pointed a finger at the boy. "Know you," was all he would say, and not in the same moderate tone he used with Isaac. He sounded very much irritated, as he would usually. Hopefully the kid wouldn't try to be overly nice out of fear, and maybe Wendel'd respect if he stick up for himself a bit. But the kid didn't look like the type to do that. Wendel merely huffed and started looking all mean and stuff, like he didn't do with Isaac.
 
Arkik, looked at the reptilian puff up his chest and scowl at him, not a first for him though. The business that he does can sometimes bring frowns to others. Chances were, that if anything were different he would have drawn his sword there and then, but he didn't. He smiled at the reptilian and stuck his hand out to him as well to shake. "Heya, I'm Arkikio, a friend of Issac is a friend of mine." especially since he's getting paid too. After exchanging greetings all he would have to do is to receive the paycheck and make sure to put this place on a watch list, he looked at Issac. Something about this place, about HIM, seemed strange, if not familiar.

"So, I heard you needed help with something about a ship?"
 
Alex's ears perked up at the hint of engine-talk. She wasn't all that well versed in spacecraft, but she knew the basics. All the same, anything she could learn about it from listening in on the two old-timers was enough to keep her interest. She watched Wendel's face carefully after her father finished explaining the situation. Heh, if I stick around these sum' bitches, I'll probably learn to jury rig an engine better than maintain one, she thought to herself, eliciting a slight chuckle. She probably would be pretty great at it, considering her gauntlet was made mostly of scrap parts that were repurposed to her.

The girl's thoughts were interrupted, much like Wendel and Isaac's conversation, by a newcomer. He had an odd look for these parts; he definitely wasn't a native. He missed the trademark gruff look that was commonplace. He had to be a merchant. Her dad made the same assumption, and after a few moments both of the Larsen's suspicions were confirmed. She leaned closer to her dad. "No harm in finding out what he's got. Might as well, seein' as the ship sounds like it's held together by bubblegum and prayers," she whispered. She glanced over at Wendel again. He didn't seem to happy. Maybe this Arkiko fella was a con artist. She'd be watching him carefully, at least.
 

Isaac squinted at the man before him, a little suspicious. Merchants around these parts were shifty fellows; the scum at the bottom of the septic tank. This man, however, doesn't seem to be from around here. "I asked what your business was, stranger." he repeated, arms still folded. He was about to tell the man to get lost if he didn't provide a decent explanation as to why he was wasting Isaac's time, but then Alex leaned in and gave her thoughts on the matter. Exhaling a breath, Isaac dropped his arms and stretched his neck to one side before addressing the man again. "Yeah, I've got a busted Ryder 450 around back, and I've got to get off this rock to see a friend before sundown. Unless you've got a fresh overdrive and engine assembly or you can fix one that's dead gone, I'm afraid you'll just have to be on your way." He raised a brow and folded his arms again. "Unless you have other business with me?"
 
"Well, I came here for a contract, but it looks like you got yourself caught up in a problem, and I heard something about a ship right?"

"Not sure about fixing one though." he glimpsed over toward the ship, "Last time I fiddled with one of those, nearly lost my hand. Would've too if not for the gauntlets." Arkikio showed them the gauntlets on his hands before looking back at the ship that Issac had. There wasn't really much too it, a banged up Ryder 450 with some plasma cannons, some 500 mm rail-guns, and some battle scars to boot. If anything, Isaac and his ship had a lot in common, except one was dead.

"Well... I may not know much about ships, or any of that fancy word play you were using, but I do know that unless you plan on checking the whole hull of the ship, that thing may just break down somewhere else, and it might not be as easy to replace." Thinking back to where he parked his ship, a random thought popped into his head, wondering if he could fit them into his ship, wherever they were going.) He leaned on the wall, pondering about his stock. (Come to think of it, what did I bring with me) Arkik pulled out the crumpled piece of paper he had shoved into his pocket and flipped to the back, re-reading his stock.


  1. 5 5.50mm Rifles
  2. 3 Plasma Cutters
  3. 15 4-packs of Beef Jerky
  4. 2 Composite bows
  5. 1500 lbs of D2 Steel
  6. 300 Steel Tipped Arrows
  7. 30 5.50mm Cartridges
  8. 2 Dual gauge Ionic Combustion engines
  9. 3 Crates of Cheese-eaters
  10. 4 Oxygen Tanks

"I may not have an exact replica of a Ryder 450, but I do have something close." Arkik swung his head toward the Reptilian, whom still frowned at him. "Hey gruffy-face, what do you think you can do with a Ionic Combustion engine? I was thinking that maybe you could try to circle it with some steel and feed oxygen into it from tanks. That way, the whole 'no oxygen in space problem' wouldn't be a bother. Would that work?"
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The kid was smart, to say the least. "Could work. You have parts?" he asked, not wanting to speak at length with the unfamiliar human. The casuality in the pet name assigned to him did give the kid a few brownie points, however. He sighed in a way that sounded like a growl, except less threatening and malicious. "Strong enough? Ion engine for stealth craft. Not fast enough for smugglers, not strong enough for bigger craft. Micro-combustion." That would be a really big problem if the Ryder was powered by explosive thrust instead of force thrust. Luckily, no electric engine will give off explosive thrust. Physics was something any mercenary should know. Wendel turned to look at Isaac and snorted predatorily. He sort of wanted to reminisce about his parents for a bit, but not in front of the merchant. He didn't know the merchant that well.
 
"Uhh..." Arkikio glanced left and right, shifting his gaze from the reptilian and the direction of where he stashed his ship. "Well no, not necessarily. I was thinking that maybe you could try to manufacture some makeshift parts with fresh steel. I don't normally deal in parts, I found the engine on one of my runs through the... lesser known planets, like this one. Was actually planning on hooking it up to Alice soon before I left. Then I happened upon you people." Micro-combustion? What in the world was this reptilian talking about? Micro-combustion engines were soon putout of production for their use of Organic mass for fuel. Then he realized that even with the Combustion Engine providing power, it could overheat and potentially melt through the hull, given it's weakened state. Or it could blow if not ventilated properly.

"My bad. It was a micro-combustion engine. It wouldn't make sense for a cold-fusion reactor to work in a common car, or any vehicle if it was that size." He scratched his head. Ships were not his thing, lest he actually tried any of his more vivid ideas that rolled through his head and got himself killed. "I got two of the engines out back in my ship, maybe you could hook those up to replace the batteries for the original engine of the 450 and replace anything damaged or broken with spare parts." He passed the crumpled list to the reptilian, hoping that he'd find something of use.
 
"Well if you're gonna have to snap on oxygen chambers to the ionic engines, why not use the oxygen for plasma propulsion? Superheat the gas." Ships weren't really Alex's thing either, but propulsion systems were something she dabbled in a few times. She knew a little about space travel for that, and even if her plan was completely nonviable, at least it was a thought. Maybe the group could build something off of that.
"Whaddaya think about that, Wend?" she asked the large reptile. "How would a plasma propulsion system work?"
 
That would work if the thrusters were exactly what Wendel hoped they weren't. They were force thrusters, not explosive thrusters. "Force thrusters, otherwise, electric engine won't work. Explosive thrust older technology. Could make a new thruster, but can't convert current thrusters to explosive. Also, have to make hole in ship to put thruster. No air in cabin unless hole sealed. Hard to do in dry conditions." Perhaps if the Ion engines had a heavy duty forced intake system, he could make it work at normal electric capacity, but at the risk of radiating everyone on board. Wendel tossed this thought around in his head and gave another growly sigh. "Forced intake on Ion Engine, but... Possibly radiation, not good for most lifeforms..."
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom
Back